As Ireland’s parliament considers legalizing some abortions, the American cardinal stresses that abortion ‘is among the gravest of manifest sins.’

DUBLIN — As the Irish parliament considers legalizing some abortions, Cardinal Raymond Burke says that local Catholic politicians who support the procedure should be refused Holy Communion in hopes of inspiring their conversion.

“There can be no question that the practice of abortion is among the gravest of manifest sins,” Cardinal Burke told the Irish newspaper Catholic Voice in an interview published Feb. 1.

Once “a Catholic politician has been admonished that he should not come forward to receive Holy Communion,” the cardinal added, “as long as he continues to support legislation which fosters abortion or other intrinsic evils, then he should be refused Holy Communion.”

The American cardinal heads the Apostolic Signatura, the Vatican’s highest legal tribunal that rules on canon law.

Cardinal Burke said that the local bishop and parish priests must ensure that Holy Communion is properly received to avoid “the grave sin of sacrilege” from those like Catholic politicians who receive Communion in spite of “grave moral evil.” The bishops and clergy must also prevent the “scandal” caused by this kind of reception because it “gives the impression that the Church’s teaching on the intrinsic evil of abortion is not firm.”

The Fine Gael-controlled Irish parliament has said it will introduce legislation to legalize abortion where the mother’s life is at risk to conform Irish law to a December 2010 ruling from the European Court of Human Rights. That ruling itself is based on a 1992 Irish Supreme Court decision that was never codified into law.

Opponents of the proposed change support current Irish practice that distinguishes morally wrong direct abortion from medical treatments that may indirectly put an unborn baby’s life at risk. They say proposals to allow abortion for women who threaten suicide would allow abortion on demand.

Savita Halappanavar’s Death

The push for a change to Ireland’s laws on abortion comes in reaction to the death of Savita Halappanavar, an Indian woman who died at a Galway hospital after miscarrying. She reportedly asked for an abortion and later died of a severe infection. The cause of her death is still under investigation, although abortion advocates seized on the case to claim legal abortion would have saved her life.

Cardinal Burke said Halappanavar’s death is “tragic.” However, he said this does not mean “an innocent and defenseless human life can be justifiably destroyed in order to save the life of the mother.”

He warned the Irish people and the Irish government to be alert for this kind of justification for abortion.

Even if Halappanavar did request an abortion, he said, “her request would not have made it right for the law to permit such an act which is always and everywhere wrong.”

The cardinal said Catholic politicians have the duty to support all legislation that will “most reduce the evils which attack human life and the integrity of marriage.”

Politicians cannot vote for any legislation that would confirm or advance “evil,” but a politician may support legislation to reduce such evils if he acknowledges these evils and the need for his voters to work to eliminate them.

Cardinal Burke stressed that the Catholic Church’s rules on the need to receive communion worthily are based on Christians’ relationship with Jesus Christ.

Someone who persists in “manifest grave sin” should not receive Holy Communion “because of his love of our Lord and his sorrow for the grave sin which he is committing against our Lord and His Holy Church.”

Recognizing this “grave offense” against God will “most inspire a conversion of heart” in Catholic politicians who support abortion, the cardinal said. He cited St. Paul’s admonition in the First Letter to the Corinthians that those who receive communion unworthily “eats and drinks judgment upon himself.”

Laments Legacy of Roe

Cardinal Burke also lamented the 40th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down abortion laws nationwide. He said the legalization of abortion contradicts the “fundamental principle” of safeguarding human life and has done “incalculable harm.”

“It is not possible to comprehend all of the devastation worked by procured abortion on demand during these past forty years,” the cardinal told the Catholic Voice.

I am with Isabel. Not only should they be refused Communion, they should be excommunicated. Joe Biden, Kathleen Sebelius, Nancy Pelosi, Andrew Cuomo, as well as other counterfeit Catholics in public office who support abortion should be excommunicated from the Church. They are free to appeal to the votes of their liberal, secular supporters, but they should not claim to be Catholic.

Posted by S Flory on Saturday, Feb 9, 2013 10:10 PM (EDT):

I fully agree with Cardinal Burke’s opinion that Catholic politicians who support the inrinsically evil practise of abortion should be refused Holy Communion in hopes of inspiring their conversion. In my opinion these idividuals and those who enable them in their desecration of the Blessed Sacrament are disrespecting the Body, Blood, Soul and Devinity of the Second Person of the Trinity. These are serious sins. Our US Church leaders here who fail to take corrective action against the desecration of the Blessed Sacrament by Catholic civil officials who support abortion, should pay attention to the Cardinal.

Posted by ANNE on Saturday, Feb 9, 2013 6:03 PM (EDT):

Cardinal Burke who is a Canon Lawyer and now ‘Cardinal Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura’ gave similar direction to US Cardinals and Bishops. In 2007, he wrote to US Bishops - ” CANON 915: THE DISCIPLINE REGARDING
THE DENIAL OF HOLY COMMUNION TO THOSE OBSTINATELY PERSEVERING IN MANIFEST GRAVE SIN”.http://www.therealpresence.org/eucharst/holycom/denial.htm
Most US Cardinals & Bishops ignored Cardinal Burke. And now the US has more pro-abortion, pro-same-sex marriage, pro-euthanasia, and pro embryonic stem cell reseach politicians than ever before.
In addition, many US Bishops refuse to publically excommunicate ab homine those who publically cause grave SCANDAL.
CCC: ” 2286 Scandal can be provoked by laws or institutions, by fashion or opinion.
Therefore, they are guilty of scandal who establish laws or social structures leading to the decline of morals and the corruption of religious practice,
or to social conditions that, intentionally or not, make Christian conduct and obedience to the Commandments difficult and practically impossible.
This is also true of business leaders who make rules encouraging fraud, teachers who provoke their children to anger,
or manipulators of public opinion who turn it away from moral values.”
Canon 915 & Canon 1399 must be upheld if Bishops expect Catholics to believe that Bishops believe abortion etc., is a very grave sin (and a Sacrilege). Bishops actions must speak louder than their verbal lip service.
” Can. 1399 In addition to the cases established here or in other laws, the external violation of a divine or canonical law can be punished by a just penalty only when the special gravity of the violation demands punishment and there is an urgent need to prevent or repair scandals.”
In the words of St. Paul - 1 Cor 5:11-13 -“Drive out the wicked person from among you.”

Posted by Rachel on Saturday, Feb 9, 2013 11:36 AM (EDT):

Amen Amen!! I think Cardinal Burke would be an incredible choice for the next successor of St. Peter.

Posted by Rover Serton on Saturday, Feb 9, 2013 10:42 AM (EDT):

OK, time to put the rubber to the road!

6 members of the SCOTUS are Catholic. If you REALLY believe what you say, Deny communion to these people. Threatening Democrats publicly before elections is just fluff that is quickly stopped after trying to influence the election.

The SCOTUS is the ONLY branch that can outlaw abortion. If you truely want the law changed and the residual outrage of the pro-choice people (don’t say pro abortion btw, I’ve never met a pro abortion person and neither have you), Advocate publicly for their denial of communion.

If she did have an abortion, then she would have lived-barring any unforseen problems(infection,excessive bleeding,etc.) The Laundries were a big sin that the Catholic church used against women,just as sinful as the consentration camps were used against mostly Jews and anyone the Nazies deemed to be sent.Instead of forgiving,the Laundries were condemning. Let the abortion law be what it was here in the USA, able to be legal and available to any woman, without any restrictions.
By the way, people may not be able to receive physical communion, they can;however, receive spiritual Communion, or go t a church where they are not easily recognized and receive Communion there.

Posted by Grok Hadrian on Friday, Feb 8, 2013 8:33 PM (EDT):

Thankfully the Church is starting to take action against these promoters of murder. None of us can hide behind our job like politicians do. If your boss told you to hire someone to kill a competitor, would you do it? Not if you are a good Catholic. You would be culpable for the murder. Likewise these ‘Catholic’ politicians are murderers and at the very least should not receive communion. Thank you Cardinal Burke. Now lets see the rest of the Bishops start enforcing it.

Posted by Isabel Kilian on Friday, Feb 8, 2013 8:15 PM (EDT):

How about starting here at home?

Posted by Susan Maida on Friday, Feb 8, 2013 5:07 PM (EDT):

You, Cardinal Burke are in my prayers. May God bless you and every priest in this holy work.

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